Encanto Community Park

Encanto Community Park and Recreation Center is located on the corner of Broadway and 65th Streets. We were there at approximately 10:30 a.m. on a Thursday afternoon. The park was clean and peaceful, with very few people there. The green grass was well kept and the picnic tables and barbecues looked well used, but in good shape. Two African-American men conversed quietly at a picnic table, but left as we approached. A group of four youths played on the swings, and erupted into occasional laughter that filled the empty park. A day-care center for toddlers, located in a corner of the park, was lively with game playing and loud chatter. At the gym, a basketball game was in progress; the squeaks of sneakers, the echoes of bouncing balls, and the smell of the locker room became obvious as we slowly approached. There were also tennis courts and a baseball field waiting to be used. In the arts and crafts room, park employees were making decorations for an upcoming community picnic.

We interviewed a woman who was the manager of the recreation center. She was pleased to offer as much help as she could. She has an interest in O'Farrell, as her daughter is in the sixth grade and on the O'Farrell waiting list. She wasn't as familiar with Morse, so we concentrated on O'Farrell. Everything she had to say about the students and the school was positive. She described the students as polite, well-mannered, intelligent and focused; more so than students from other schools. She felt that the program at O'Farrell had cultivated these traits in their students. Her description of the school surprisingly included the word "traditional." She went on to say the school was structured, and exposed the students to many things. She repeatedly used the term "good school," but when pressed, couldn't elaborate on that. She had a definite appreciation of the school, but really didn't know anything about its specific strengths.

As an employee of the park, she was very aware of the community. She said that compared to the surrounding communities, the level of violence wasn't significant. Also, she thought the parents in the area participated actively in their children's lives and she was proud that the park was usually very busy on the weekends.

When asked to advise us on how to be effective teachers, her overwhelming advice was to stand your ground. She thought that establishing control over the classroom was the key to successful teaching of the neighborhood kids.

Postscript: Seven Months Later

After teaching seven months at O'Farrell, we feel that the recreation manager's observations of O'Farrell students were generally correct. For the most part students are polite, well-mannered, intelligent, and focused. However, as with any school there are problems. We have noticed isolated incidents involving drugs, weapons, and fighting. Fortunately, the dress code has eliminated many of the gang related conflicts that were common at O'Farrell in the past. As for parental involvement, we would have to disagree with her comments. Overall, parental involvement is good. We were surprised, however, to find out how many students do not live with their parents, but rather with grandparents, aunts and uncles, or foster families that may not be as concerned about the students' education.